Physical activity
Policymakers & government officials
Physical activity is one of the most important ways to protect health and prevent non-communicable diseases. It includes much more than sport or structured exercise. Walking, cycling, wheeling, playing, taking the stairs, active travel and movement at work, school or home can all support better health. For policymakers, this creates a major prevention opportunity: designing everyday environments where movement is safe, accessible and part of normal daily life.
125,000
deaths linked to physical inactivity
in the EU in 2019
85 million
preventable new cases projected
in the EU between 2020 and 2030
150-300
minutes per week
recommended for adults
60
minutes per day
recommended for children and adolescents
Physical activity is shaped by everyday environments
Physical activity is often presented as a matter of personal motivation. But people’s opportunities to move are strongly influenced by their surroundings.
Streets, transport systems, schools, workplaces, green spaces, healthcare services and local communities all affect whether movement becomes part of daily life.
For policymakers, the key point is simple: physical activity policy should not only ask people to move more. It should make movement easier, safer and more accessible in everyday life.
What makes prevention harder?
Physical activity becomes harder when everyday environments do not support movement. Information campaigns alone are unlikely to be enough if people do not have safe, affordable and realistic opportunities to be active.
Barriers can include:
- Unsafe or unattractive walking and cycling routes
- Lack of access to parks, playgrounds and green spaces
- Car-dependent urban design
- Limited support for movement in schools and workplaces
- Long periods of sitting built into daily routines
- Cost barriers to sport and recreation
- Safety concerns, especially for children, older people, women and girls
- Unequal access for people with disabilities or reduced mobility
When environments do not support movement, information alone is unlikely to be enough.
What can policy do?
Policy can make physical activity easier by shaping the places where people live, learn, work and spend time.
Those conditions are shaped by decisions on:
Urban planning
Transport systems
Schools and childcare
Workplaces
Parks and green spaces
Healthcare and social services
Public buildings and services
Community programmes
Inclusive design and accessibility
Effective actions for active daily life
Evidence-based physical activity promotion often focuses on creating environments where movement is safe, practical and part of everyday routines.
Promote active transport
Walking, cycling, wheeling and public transport links can help people build movement into travel to schools, workplaces, services and community spaces.
Reduce sedentary time
Workplaces, schools and public institutions can help people break up long periods of sitting and support more active routines.
Integrate physical activity into health and social services
Healthcare and community services can support people to be more active through advice, referral, local programmes and support adapted to different needs.
Make activity inclusive
Physical activity opportunities should be accessible to people of different ages, abilities, incomes, cultures and backgrounds.
Active living should be possible for everyone
A strong prevention approach asks who has real opportunities to be active, and who faces the greatest barriers.
Some groups may have fewer safe, affordable or accessible opportunities to move. This can include children and young people without safe play spaces or active school environments, older adults, people with disabilities, people with chronic conditions, people with reduced mobility, women and girls who may feel less safe in some public spaces, people with lower incomes, people with caring responsibilities, and communities with less investment in transport, public spaces and local services.
Policy can reduce these inequalities by making active environments safer, more accessible and more inclusive.
What support can look like
Supportive environments make it easier for people to be active in ways that fit their daily lives. Inclusive action means removing practical barriers and creating opportunities that are safe, affordable and accessible for different groups.
Support may include:
- Safe, well-lit and connected walking and cycling routes
- Accessible parks, playgrounds, green spaces and public buildings
- Affordable or free local activities
- Active schools and safe routes to school
- Workplaces and public institutions that support movement breaks
- Inclusive activities for different ages, abilities, cultures and fitness levels
- Public transport and urban planning that make everyday movement easier
- Community groups and social activities that make movement more enjoyable
Daily movement is also shaped by wider systems
Physical activity is influenced by more than individual choice. Car-dependent planning, screen-based entertainment, workplace cultures, private access to sport facilities and commercial development patterns can all affect how much people move in daily life.
A prevention approach should consider how planning, transport, digital environments, work patterns and commercial development shape opportunities for movement.
Policymakers can help ensure that health and movement are considered in decisions about urban development, transport, schools, workplaces, healthcare, public spaces and community services.
Practical starting points for policymakers
Public institutions and decision-makers can begin by reviewing the environments they influence directly.
Examples include:
- Improve walking and cycling access to schools, workplaces and public buildings
- Make public spaces safer, more accessible and more attractive
- Support active breaks and reduced sitting in schools and workplaces
- Improve access to parks, playgrounds and green spaces
- Include health and physical activity in urban planning decisions
- Support affordable community sport and recreation
- Make public buildings and spaces accessible for people with disabilities
- Connect physical activity policy with climate, transport, mental health and health equity goals
Physical activity is not only about sport, exercise or personal motivation. It is shaped by everyday environments. The goal is to design daily life so that more people can move more, more often, in ways that are safe, fair and accessible.
Explore the prevention areas
